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Glite Dictionary
painterly

painterly

4 7.8
Like a painting with visible brush strokes, texture, and strong color
  • adjective
  • /ˈpeɪntərli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pictórico
  • Moving quickly helps to create some defined lines, whereas moving slowly creates a more painterly-looking, softer image.
  • painterly style
  • painterly technique
  • painterly effects

But in most circumstances, the painterly algorithm works fine for that.

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Examples

  • Buzz Simplifier reduces details to give a painterly effect.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The pictorialists continued to practice a style of photography that claimed legitimacy by appropriating painterly effects.

    Academic text (2004)

  • MILLER: But, um, at the same time, we're trying to keep a kind of painterly color with the blue background.

    Maggie's Plan (2016)

  • This powerful design and painterly dash were not just intended to be a pleasure to see.

  • Her technique created an even softer, more painterly effect that remains popular to this day.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The sky is painterly blue with strings of white clouds drifting above great choppy waves.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Layered colors and subtle textures build the form and explore the painterly side of sculpture.

    Blog text (11)

  • The beadwork of the Xhosa and Zulu-speaking peoples holds painterly appeal.

    Academic text (2003)

  • There was also a return to figurative work and more painterly styles by the "Wroclaw Quartet" of New Wave poster artists.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Her technique created an even softer, more painterly effect that remains popular to this day.

Synonyms

artsy
vspainterly
  • Informal
10 4.3

Having a creative, unusual style like an artist

focuses on medium qualities like texture and brushwork rather than novelty
impressionist
vspainterly
8 7.0

It describes art that shows light and color with loose, short brush marks

stresses paint surface and technique instead of general mood
impressionistic
vspainterly
2 8.4

In art or music, showing light, colour, and feeling rather than small details

focuses more on visible technique and texture than mood
pictorialist
vspainterly
  • Specialized
8.6

A style of art or photography that shows mood and soft focus rather than sharp detail

leans more toward visible surface and brushwork than composition

Antonyms

detailed
353 3.7

Having many small parts or facts that you can see

precise
286 3.6

Exactly correct and clear about small details

How Painterly

expressive
41 3.4
gestural
2 6.3
painterly
  • Specialized
4 7.8
detailed
353 3.7
precise
286 3.6

Surface Forms

painterly positive

Morphology

painterly = painter (transparent) = paint + er + ly

Formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ly' to 'painter' to mean 'having qualities of a painter or painting', a readily inferable meaning for learners.

Etymology

Painterly comes from painter and paint, where paint means 'to colour a picture' and painter is 'one who paints', plus the adjective ending -ly, so painterly means 'like a painting'. That's why we call a photo or artwork 'painterly' when it shows visible brushstrokes, texture, or soft colour blends.